Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread, your kids will love!
Chocolate lovers, this one is for you!
If you’ve ever craved a moist chocolate piece of cake, this is for you. But its not really a cake. Technically it’s a”healthy-ish” version of a bread, but super chocolaty and moist! The best part, it includes veggies! Say whaat? Veggies! Your kids won’t believe it has zucchini. It will hit the sweet spot every time!
As a chocolate fan myself (and chocolate family), I’m always looking for that perfect moist bread that you can serve for mornings, snacks, and desserts-This is it! If your kids are not fans of zucchini, I dare you to bake it with them, and let’s see what they say afterward! Instead of seeing this as a “let me sneak some veggies in a cake,” I would use this opportunity to bake with your kids and show them the many different ways to eat and enjoy veggies. Use this as a teachable moment to EXPOSE them to vegetables, rather than HIDE the veggies.
Don’t let the zucchini throw you off — quite the opposite. Adding the zucchini gives this bread moisture without needing to add much fat or sugar (think of a carrot cake meets a banana bread with chocolate). Plus, the addition of a ripe banana reminds me of banana bread but with a chocolate twist.
What makes this bread special
It’s the double chocolate and how moist it is. I used special dark cocoa from Hershey’s, but you can use your favorite. The quality of the cocoa will matter, so make sure you use some good quality dutch process or dark chocolate cocoa. The recipe itself uses 2/3 of a cup of sugar, but I always use less. The addition of the chocolate chips and the ripe banana give it sweetness without the additional sugar. So keep that in mind.
Lastly, the addition of the greek yogurt makes this bread extra moist without the added fats. I love baking with yogurt. If you have never tried yogurt-pancakes I recommend you to try it, you will never go back to traditional ones! It gives it some richness and keeps it moist.
How your kids can help in the kitchen
I encourage you to bake this recipe with your little ones, especially if they have a hard time accepting veggies-This shows your kids; veggies can be eaten many ways and guess what they can actually taste good! I’m a big believer in getting kids early in the kitchen. Have you ever noticed that toddlers love playing with pots and pans? So why don’t we invite them to be part of the cooking process? Chances are your kid will be more exposed to different foods and be better at accepting new foods. Here is what your kids can help you do:
- Mix the dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, salt.
- Use a kits kitchen knife to cut the ripe banana and zucchini
- Pour the coconut oil into the mix
- Crack the eggs
- Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips
- Enjoy it!
I promise you, you will absolutely love this chocolate goodness, and your kids will love it too!
Here's a video with my daughters trying the final product:
Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread- A chocolate lover's dream
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa (preferably extra dark cocoa)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup sugar (I used slightly less)
- 1 medium zucchini grated or finely chopped
- 1 ripe banana
- 2/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/3 cup greek yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients in medium bowl (except sugar): flour, salt, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder.
- In large bowl, mix the eggs with sugar (can be done by hand) until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the melted coconut oil, make sure it has cooled before you add it in.
- Cut the zucchini in smaller pieces and use a food processor to grate or finely chop. Add the ripe banana and greek yogurt.
- Combine the zucchini-yogurt blend with and the eggs and sugar mixture (all wet ingredients)
- Next, stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones.
- Chop the walnuts and fold them into the mixture and slowly add in half of the the dark chocolate chips. (you can use whichever nuts you like)
- Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the bread. Bake for 35-45min at 350 degrees. Insert a toothpick into the center until it comes out mostly clean. Make sure you don't over bake this bread. Check it carefully at 30min to see if done.
- Let the bread cool for 15min and enjoy!!
